Tablet armchair



Nov. 9,' 1965 B. B. JUNKUNc 3,216,754

TABLET ARMCHAIR Filed Nov. 13, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B. B. JUNKUNC TABLET ARMCHAIR Nov. 9,` 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 13, 1965 M W M www United States Patent O M 3,216,764 TABLET ARMCHAIR Bela B. Junkunc, Chicago, Ill., `assignor to Bela Seating Company, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 323,314 Claims. (Cl. 297-160) This invention relates to a tablet arm for chairs, and is particularly concerned with means for swinging the tablet arm pivotally in a horizontal plane to facilitate nesting of the chairs when they are stacked vertically, and to make it easier for a person to get into or out of one of said chairs when said chairs are arranged in closely spaced rows, as in a class room or assembly hall.

Set-up chairs, i.e., non-folding chairs, may be stacked in nested relationship if their legs are inclined or spread to avoid engagement of the seat of one chair by the bottoms of the legs of the chair stacked thereon. Heretofore, it has been impossible to nest set-up chairs, otherwise capable of being nested vertically, when such chairs are provided with tablet arms, unless the chair have been provided with complicated mechanisms for retracting the tablet arm. Tablet arms, if positioned conveniently for use by a person sitting in a chair, have a portion thereof extending inwardly of the vertical plane of the legs at one side of the chair, and thus prevent the legs on said one side of one chair from moving downwardly into nested relationship with a similar chair positioned below it because the legs on said one side ofthe upper chair will engage the top of the tablet arm of the lower chair.

In accordance with the present invention, the tablet arm is mounted on the chair in such a manner that it may be moved pivotally in a horizontal plane to swing it out of the path of travel of the legs of a chair being moved downwardly into nested relationship with the chair having the tablet arm mounted thereon.

A structure by means of which the above noted and other advantages of the invention are attained, will be described in the followoing specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevational view of a set-up chair provided with a tablet arm embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational View of the chair shown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the chair shown in FIGURE l, with the tablet arm shown in its normal position of use in solid lines, and showing the tablet arm in its retracted position in dot and dash lines;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of a stack of chairs in nested position with the tablet arms of the lower chairs swung outwardly into retracted position;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of a stack of chairs in nested position;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top plan View of a tablet arm and supporting structure;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken along the line 7-7 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View, taken along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 3.

In the drawings, a chair 11 comprises a base member consisting of two inverted U-shaped sections 12 and 13, and a back member 14 secured to the base, by Welding or in any other suitable manner, to form a rigid frame. Section 12 comprises a forwardly inclined front leg 15, a rearwardly inclined rear leg 16, and an intermediate horizontal section 17 connecting the upper ends of the legs and 16. Section 13 similarly comprises a front leg 18, a rear leg 16, and a horizontal section 19. The angular inclination of the legs of the base member provides vertical clearance so that the chairs may be stacked 3,216,764 Patented Nov. 9, 1965 vertically in nested relationship. The sections 12 and 13 may be secured together by braces (not shown), if desired. The back member 14 comprises two upright sections 20, 21 and two arms 22, 23 extending forwardly from the lower ends of sections 20, 21, respectively. A seat 24 and a back rest 25 are secured to the chair frame in any suitable manner. A cross bar 26 is secured at its ends to the arms 22, 23 to reinforce the frame and help support the seat 24.

A support bar 27 mounted on one side of the chair supports a tablet arm 28 of any suitable size and shape in a horizontal plane. The support bar is preferably of tubular metal having a square cross section, but may be made of any suitable material and may have a cross section of any desired shape. The rear end of the support bar may be secured to the upright portion 20 of the back section, or to any other convenient portion of the chair. The rear end of the support bar is preferably secured to the chair rigidly, but may be pivotally secured thereto, if desired. The tablet arm may be regidly secured to the support bar if the support bar is pivotally secured to the frame. The support bar is bent near its rear end, as indicated at 29, to space it laterally outwardly from the side of the chair. The intermediate portion of the bar 27 is supported by a brace 30 having one end secured to the horizontal section 17 of the base and its other end secured to the underside of the bar 27. The free end of support bar 27 is preferably curved, as indicated at 43, to make the bar more rigid, but the free end of the bar may be of any desired shape. The rear end of the support bar is rigidly secured to the upright portion 20 of the back section, as by welding, and is bent, as indicated at 29, to space it laterally outwardly from the side of the chair.

The tablet arm 28 is pivotally secured adjacent one end thereof to the bar 27, as indicated at 31. As shown in the drawings, the pivotal connection 31 comprises a threaded stud 32 depending from the underside of the tablet arm 28 and extending through a pair of vertically aligned apertures in the tubular bar 27. A nut 33, threaded on the end of the bolt 32, holds the tablet arm against Vertical displacement from the bar 27, but permits pivotal movement of the tablet arm in its own horizontal plane.

The underside of the tablet arm 28 is provided at its opposite end with a flat recess 34. A plate 35 is secured in the recess 34 by a plurality of screws 36. The plate 35 is provided with an arcuate slot 37 closed at each end. The slot coincides with a portion of the circumference of a circle having the pivot 31 as its center. The surface of plate 35 juxtaposed against the recessed surface of tablet arm 28 is recessed contiguous to the perimeter of the slot 37, as indicated at 38, to increase the width of the portion of the slot 37 adjacent the underside of the tablet arm 28.

The outer end of tablet arm 28 is slidably connected to the bar 27 by a threaded stud 39 having an enlarged head 40 seated in the wide portion of the slot 37. The head 40 has a diameter larger than the width of the narrow portion of the slot 37. Since both ends of the slot 37 are closed, the head 40 of stud 39 must be positioned in the wide portion of the slot before the plate 35 is secured to the underside of the tablet arm 28. If desired, the head 40 may be provided with a reduced portion 41 adapted to fit in the nar-row portion of slot 37. The stud 39 projects through vertically aligned apertures in the supporting bar 27 and is secured thereto by a nut 42.

The slot 37 has sufficient length to permit Ithe tablet arm 28 to move from its normal position for use, in which a portion of the arm extends directly in front of a person sitting in the chair 11, to a retracted position in which the entire arm is spaced outwardly of the vertical plane of section 12 of the chair. In its normal position for use, shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3, the tablet arm will usually make it ditlicult for a person to get into or out of the chair. It is very easy to push the tablet arm pivotally into the retracted position, shown in dot and dash lines in FIGURE 3, to remove the obstruction so that a person can get into or out of the chair without ditculty. The simple pivotal movement of the tablet arm into its retracted position also makes it as easy to stack a plurality of chairs in nested relationship as if the chairs did not have any tablet arms.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details of structure may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structure described.

I claim:

1. A chair comprising a frame having a shape enabling it to be nested with other similar chairs, a support bar secured to said frame, a tablet arm, pivot means securing said tablet arm to said support bar for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm in its outermost position being clear of the vertical planes dening the perimeter of said `trame, and cooperating means on said tablet arm and said support bar holding said tablet arm against vertical displacement.

2. A chair comprising a frame Ihaving a shape enabling it to be nested with other similar chairs, a support bar secured to said frame, means projecting upwardly from said support bar, a tablet arm, means securing said tablet arm to said support bar for movement in horizontal plane, said tablet arm in its outermost position being clear of the vertical planes defining the perimeter of said frame, and means on said tablet arm engageable with said rst mentioned means to guide and limit the horizontal movement of said tablet arm.

3. A chair comprising a frame, a support bar secured to said frame, a tablet arm, pivot means securing said tablet arm to said support bar for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm having an arcuate slot on its underside, said slot extending along a portion of the circumference of a circle centered about said pivot means, and means projecting upwardly from said support bar into interlocked engagement with said slot to hold said tablet arm against vertical displacement relative to said support bar.

4. A chair comprising a frame, a support bar rigidly secured to said frame, a tablet arm, pivot means securing said tablet arm to said support bar for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm having an arcuate slot on its underside, said slot having each end closed and extending along a portion of the circumference of a circle centered about said pivot means, and a stud secured to said support arm, said stud having a head interlocked with said slot to limit the movement of said Itablet arm in its horizontal plane and to hold said tablet arm against vertical displacement relative to said support bar.

S. A chair comprising a frame, a support bar rigidly secured to said frame at one end and spaced laterally from said frame throughout most of its length, a tablet arm, pivot means securing one end of said tablet arm to said support bar for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm having an arcuate slot near its other end, and a stud xed to said support bar, said stud having an enlarged head interlocked with said arcuate slot to limit the pivotal movement of said tablet arm, said slot having a length suiiicient to permit said tablet arm to swing from a position in which a portion of said tablet arm extends in front of said chair, to a position in which said entire tablet arm is spaced laterally from said chair.

6. A chair comprising a frame, a support bar rigidly secured to said frame, a tablet arm, pivot means securing said tablet arm to said support bar for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm having a recess on its underside adjacent its outer end, a plate secured in said recess, said plate having an undercut slot with the narrow portion of said slot in the lowermost surface of said plate, said slot having both ends closed and extending along a line coincident with the circumference of a circle centered about said pivot means, and a stud fixed to said support bar, said stud having an enlarged head interlocked with said slot to limit the pivotal movement of said tablet arm and to prevent vertical displacement of said tablet arm relative to said support bar.

7. A chair comprising a frame, a support bar rigidly secured adjacent its rear end to said frame, said support bar being bent adjacent said rear end to space the -major portion of said support bar laterally of said frame, a tablet arm pivotally mounted on said support bar to swing in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm in its outermost position being clear of the vertical planes defining the perimeter of said frame, and means holding said tablet arm against vertical movement relative to said support bar.

8. A chair comprising a frame, a support bar rigidly secured to said frame, the major portion of said support bar being spaced laterally from said frame, a tablet arm mounted on the portion of said support bar spaced laterally from said frame for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said tablet arm in its outermost position being clear of the vertical planes defining the perimeter of said frame, and cooperating means on said tablet arm and said support bar holding said tablet arm against vertical movement relative to said support bar, said cooperating means being spaced laterally of said frame.

9. A chair comprising a frame having a shape enabling it to be nested with other similar chairs, a tablet arm, means for pivotally supporting said tablet arm in a substantially horizontal plane relative to said frame, a support bar extending laterally from said frame, said tablet arm being supported by said support bar in a nesting position, in which it is clear of the vertical planes deiining the perimeter of said frame, and a position of use, and means holding said tablet arm against pivotal rotation in a vertical direction.

10. A chair having a shape enabling it to be nested with other similar chairs, said chair comprising a frame, a support bar extending outwardly from said frame, a tablet arm, said support bar pivotally supporting said tablet arm for movement between a nesting position, in which said tablet arm is clear of the vertical planes dening the perimeter of said frame, and a position of use, and means holding said tablet arm against pivotal movement in either direction about a horizontal axis.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 258,354 5/82 Bell 297-162 X 854,298 5/07 Matthews 297-161 1,648,717 11/27 Blitz et al. 297-161 1,659,572 2/28 Klemm 297-160 2,566,113 8/51 Bavless 297-161 2,617,473 11/52 Krimstock et al. 297-161 2,994,366 8/61 Hoch 297-162 X 3,082,036 3/63 Albinson 297-160 X 3,905,236 6/63 Klassen 297-162 X 3,120,977 2/64 Albinson 297-160 3,156,495 11/64 Blodee 297-162 FRANK B. SHERRY. Primary Examiner. 

1. A CHAIR COMPRISING A FRAME HAVING A SHAPE ENABLING IT TO BE NESTED WITH OTHER SIMILAR CHAIRS, A SUPPORT BAR SECURED TO SAID FRAME, A TABLET ARM, PIVOT MEANS SECURING SAID TABLET ARM TO SAID SUPPORT BAR FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE, SAID TABLET ARM IN ITS OUTERMOST POSITION BEING CLEAR OF THE VERTICAL PLANES DEFINING THE 